Benzinger helps Wright State hold off IUPUI 60-52

Dec 30, 2017, 11:40 pm

DAYTON, Ohio -- Grant Benzinger scored 16 points, including five in a span of 40 seconds as Wright State turned back an IUPUI rally and won a second consecutive Horizon League game, 60-52 on Saturday.

Benzinger knocked down a 3 that gave the Raiders (10-5, 2-0) a 38-28 lead with 12:31 to play, but IUPUI chipped away with an 18-13 run over the next nine minutes and came as close as 48-46 when Evan Hall and Jaylen Minnett hit consecutive 3-pointers with 5:17 remaining.

Benzinger followed Hall's 3 with a jumper and Minnett's with a 3 of his own, pushing the lead back to five.

Justin Mitchell scored 11 points with 13 rebounds for the Raiders and Parker Ernsthausen scored 10, going a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and 4-of-4 at the line.

Minnett led the Jaguars, who shot 18-for-51 (35 percent) with 11 points and Ron Patterson added 10. A Patterson 3-pointer with 1:45 remaining made it 56-51 but IUPUI scored one point from there with a turnover and three missed 3s.

IUPUI (3-10, 0-2) is in its first Horizon League season and is 0-9 on the road.